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March 6, 1928.

C. E. FULLER DRIER Filed Aug. 9, 1926 Patented Mar. 6, 1928 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OLAUD E. FULLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A$SIGNOR TO NEW YORK BRICK HANDLING CORPORATION, OF N FEW YORK, N Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

DRIER.

Application filed August 9, 1926. Serial No. 128,041.

My present invention relates to drying ap paratus and more particularly to an lm proved pipe rack drier for brick and the like.

In existing types of pipe rack drier-s, the source of heat for drying the br 1ck 1s derived entirely from the steam whlch 18 carried in the pipes of the racks which support the pallets of brick. The air Wh1ch en ters the drier, either coming down through the monitor at the cool end or the numerous cracks of the building, is caused to errculate by reason of being heated by the pipe racks themselves. As these p l pe racks are of considerable length, varying from 75 to 120 long, and as the pipes themselves are of comparatively small diameter, and as they are supporting pallets of wet, cold brick when the steam is admitted to the racks, the steam condenses quite rapidly and heats up the pipes and surrounding air at a comparatively slow rate. As a result oi th1s action, the inlet end of the drier, that 1s, the end of the drier where steam is admitted to the pipe racks, becomes heated a con s1derable length of time before the opposlte or outlet end, for the steam and water of condensation must travel the length of the pipe racks to the outlet. The air at the inlet end, which becomes heated by contact with the pipes of the pipe rack drier, rises pract1 cally vertically and passes out through the monitors, and as it is, of course, necessary to replace this air and as the outlet end of the drier is still cool or practically of a uniform temperature from top to bottom, and as the monitors have iixed openlngs, the easiest path for the air to enter is to come down through the monitor at the cool end objectionable, as in winter time this causes rapid condensation, and where the drier building is equipped with glass windows in the monitor, this condensation would drip onto the drier racks and would have to be {is taken care of by the application of increased heat. During the first half or three-quarters of an hour, tests made show that little or no air flows along or through the piles of brick and it is only after the drying appae0 ratus becomes thoroughly heated that the current of warm air passes up through the stacks of brick on either side. Even after the drier became thoroughly heated, tests show that very little air passes through the drier, and, within the drier itself, the air becomes practically motionless, particularly in the vicinity of the stacked brick.

In my present invention I have obviated the objections noted above in existing types of apparatus and have produced a drier in which the ventilators insure a constant flow of exit air and which will not permit the back flow of cold air from the monitor, as in the present type of apparatus. Also, I II have produced a device by means of which the amount of air passing through the drier, and particularly the lower part thereof, is controlled.

In carrying out my invention, I have pro- 3 vided along the sides of the drier house, inlet pipes through which air may flow at a plurality of points, and adjacent to each side wall of the drier I provide baffle plates which direct the air inwardly and upwardly 35 with regard to the drier building. Extending lengthwise of the drier building and suitably spaced from each other and form the side walls I arrange pipe racks on which the brick to be dried are placed, as is usual. The side wall of the drier house, the bafile plates above referred to, and the drier racks form a chamber into which the air is forced through the inlet pipes arranged at the lower portion of the side walls sothat the only exit from such chamber for the heated air is around and through the bricks resting on the racks.

The principal object of my invention,

therefore, is an improved pipe rack drier.

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Another object of my invention is an improved means for controlling quantities of air in the drier.

A further object is an improved means for directing the flow of air over the bricks in the racks prior to the exit of such air through the ventilators.

In the accompanying drawings illustrat ing a preferred embodiment of my invention,

1 is a side elevation of a portion of a drier building to which my invention has been applied;

Fig. is a sectional plan View of Flg. 1 on the line 2-2, and

3 is a sectional end elevation of Fig. 1 on the line 33.

Refer g to the drawings, 9 designates geneolly a drier buihling composed of s1de walls 10 and iii tied together adjacent their top ends by beams 12, and supporting a roof 13, on which mounted at suitable intervals ventilating monitors 1a. In the side vmlls at suitable intervals are placed windows l and along the lower edge of the wall ll at suitable intervals are inlet ports 16 and through which air may ilow, as indicated by the arrows shown in Fig. 3. 13sneath the wall ll. and below the floor 17 of the drier building 9, and extending transversely of such building, are conduits 18, which conduits terminate adjacent the side wall ll) in inlet pipes ii), there being one of such conduits l8 and inlet pipes 19 for each of the inlet ports 16. Suitable means is provided for forcing air through the ports 16 and conduits 18 but as such means forms no part of my present invention, it has not been illustrated and will not be further referred to.

Centrally located in the building 9, and extending longitudinally thereof, is an endless conveyor arrangement 20, on which a plurality of pallets 21 carrying brick 22 may be moved into the building and loaded on the pipe racks designated generally by the reference l'lllillQll 23. lhe pallets 22 resting on the pipes in the rack 23 form a plurality of shelves under and over which the air passes in coming from either the ports 16 or the inlet pipes 12). Extending from the side walls and 11 and inwardly and upwardly therefrom, witl their outer ends rest ing on the top of the pipe racks 23, are bal'lle plates 24- and which act as deflectors to force the heated air inward toward the center of the building 9. As the heated air will naturally rise, and being under pressure, even though slight, such air will follow the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 3, pass lug through the drier and around the brick 22 and thence follow a general upward direction and pass out through the monitors 14.

By having a plurali of ports 16 and inlet pipcs an?v having such pipes arranged women rounding the endless conveyor arrangement is another region of dead or motionless air. Such regions w1ll, however, have no elrect on the elhciency of the apparatus and act rather as insulators to enclose the moving volume of heated an. The moisture taken from the brick 22 by the heated alr passes,

therefore, in a solid column up through, and

out of the building 9 and, therefore, such construction will prevent the condensation that now takes place in present types of buildings. Further, as all parts of the drier are heated practically simultaneously, there is no inrush of cold air from the monitors located at the exhaust end of the building, and, therefore, the occasional freezing of brick at the exhaust end due to condensation is positively" prevented.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. An improved drying apparatus for brick and the like comprising a pipe rack drier for holding a plurality of layers of brick thereon, an air inlet, a deflector extending from a point above the inlet upward and to the top of the pipe rack drier whereby the air is prevented from rising above such deflector, said deflector guiding the air from the inlet through the pipe rack drier, and around the brick therein.

2. An improved drier for brick and the like comprising a drier shed, pipe rack driers arranged at either side of the medial line thereof and extending longitudinally of said building, deflectors resting on top of each of said driers and extending outward and downward to the adjacent wall of the building, air inlets arranged along each wall adjacent to the bottom thereof whereby air passing thru such inlet-s will be directed by the deflector upward and inward with respect to said drier house and passing thru the driers and upward to the center of the drier house.

8. An improved drying apparatus for brick and the like comprising a drier house, pipe rackdriers arranged in said building on either side of the central line thereof and spaced apart from the walls and from each other, deflectors resting on top of each of said driers and extending outwardly and downwardly and having their outer ends supported on the adjacent walls, a'plurality of air inlets arranged along one of said walls loo mamas adjacent to the bottom thereof, a plurality of air conduits arranged beneath the floor of said drier house and terminating in the exit adjacent the other of said walls and at the lower end thereof, whereby air will be delivered simultaneously through the orifice in the first said wall and through the outlets of the conduits and will be constrained to move inward and upwardly through the pipe rack driers by the afore- 10 said deflectors.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

CLAUD E. FULLER. 

